Rs 65 crore Giri Water Scheme to meet water needs of Shimla town

Shimla, Jun 11 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Minister Kaul Singh Thakur today claimed that the Rs 65 crore Giri Water Supply will solve the drinking water needs of the town for the next 30 years.

Presiding over the meeting of IPH and officers of other departments to review the water situation in the state capital here, he said construction work of the scheme was being carried out at a fst pace so as to complete it before its inauguration slated for October two, later this year.

Mr Thakur said the 66 KV power station for the augmentation of the scheme would be commissioned by July 31 which would help in lifting water from Giri River to storage tanks here.

He also directed the officials to replace the old water lifting pumps in the existing water supply schemes to ensure uninterrupted water supply.

The state government was also considering a proposal to lift water from Pabber river in Shimla district and a detailed project report (DPR) was being prepared, he said.

He said the government was providing Rs 35 crore energy charges to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) for lifting and distribution of water in Shimla town, besides Rs 75 crore was also being spent in other parts of the state.

Mr Thakur said 19 water storage tanks had also been constructed, out of which eight, had already been tested for their effectivity, while the remaining would be tested soon.

He said the total water storage capacity of these tanks would be of about 73 lakh gallon that would be enough to meet out the problem of water shortage in the town.

The town was being provided 70 lakh gallon of water per day in the month of May, this year, which had come down to 60 lakh gallon in June as against its requirement of 99 lakh gallons per day due to large inflow of tourists in the state.

Reiterating the Congress-led State Government's resolution to provide drinking water to all residents of the state in a time bound manner, he said the government would provide drinking water to all 16,807 census villages.

He also directed the IPH officers to plug all leakages in the main water supply lines and said water wastage should be prevented at all cost to ensure regular water supply.

UNI